The MIDC police have booked two persons for allegedly duping a Superintendent of Customs Department of Rs. 33.53 lakh on the pretext of giving MBBS admission to her daughter in medical college in Chennai.
An FIR in the case was registered by the Superintendent’s 56-year-old husband, who retired from the shipping company. According to the police, the superintendent’s daughter appeared for the NEET in July 2022 but could not bag admission to any medical college in Maharashtra due to her low scores in the exam. The complainant alleged that he was introduced to one Rocky Savio through his relative, who lives in Chennai. The victim spoke to Savio on phone who gave the mobile number of his business partner, Stephen Dexter Peter, claiming that he was a global career counsellor and that he would help their daughter secure admission in a medical college in Chennai. The victim was informed that Stephen and Rocky had previously helped many needy students get admission in medicine and other fields.
Since the victim’s family was worried about their daughter’s career, they contacted Stephen on September 18, 2022 giving Rocky’s reference and requested him to help them for their daughter’s admission. They also sent required documents of that academic year, copies of Aadhaar card, school leaving certificate and other documents through WhatsApp to Stephen, mentioned in the FIR.
According to police, Stephen assured to secure MBBS admission for their daughter and told them the total expenditure would come to Rs. 33.53 lakh—Rs. 30 lakh for their daughter’s MBBS admission, legal admission fee of Rs 28,600, hostel fee of Rs 1.75 lakh and Rs. 1.50 lakh as his service charge. The complainant transferred the whole amount to the accused on a bank account bearing the name of one John Peter between September and December, 2022.
According to police, after paying the amount on the instructions of Rocky, whenever the family contacted them, they always gave vague answers. The family, along with their daughter, went to Chennai in December 2022 and met Stephen, who took them to Madras Medical College and made them wait outside for a few hours. Stephen went inside the college and came back, informing them that the admission confirmation will come in January 2023 through email. The victim returned to Mumbai and after a month, when they again started calling the suspects, Stephen said their daughter would get admission for the next academic year, starting from June 2023.
“Later, the accused promised to return the money but when they stopped taking the phone calls and replying to messages, the family approached the police and submitted a written complaint at the MIDC police station few months ago,” said Ravindera Vani, senior inspector at MIDC police station. An FIR was registered against the two accused after verification of the complaint.
Manish Kumar Pathak is a dedicated journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Mumbai. His work demonstrates substantial Expertise and Authority across the complex field of crime reporting, with a strong focus on law enforcement actions, fraud, and cyber security challenges facing the metropolitan region.
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Manish Kumar Pathak's consistent focus on crime, fraud, and the workings of the Mumbai police system establishes him as a trusted and authoritative source for critical news in Western India. ... Read More
